The beneficial effects of employing various types of heater assemblies for maintaining the temperature of a source of fluid such as a lubricant or coolant and which is supplied to an internal combustion engine is well. known. Various block heaters, of assorted designs, have been utilized with internal combustion motors which are used on assorted overland vehicles, such as locomotives, diesel operated trucks and automobiles in order to allow such vehicles to effectively operate during extremely cold temperatures. In some non-mobile applications, diesel motors are employed to drive sub-assemblies such as electrical generators which may be utilized as back-up power to support the operations of buildings such as hospitals, and the like, in the event that electricity is interrupted to the building as might occur during natural emergencies, such as winter storms, and similar events. In order to ensure that these internal combustion motors operate effectively, heaters have been utilized to maintain the temperature of the fluids used with these internal combustion motors at an elevated temperature such that the internal combustion motor or engine can be easily started and then operated notwithstanding what the outside ambient temperature or conditions might be.
While earlier heater designs employed for the purposes, noted above, have worked with varying degrees of success, there have been shortcomings which have detracted from their usefulness. Chief among the shortcomings associated with these heater assemblies has been the propensity for such heaters to remain operational (energized) long after their need is no longer required. Further, and under some circumstances, this same characteristic for continued operation has contributed to the overheating of the internal combustion engine and damage to the heating assembly itself or other subassemblies.
Therefore, a fluid heating assembly which avoids the detriments associated with the individual prior art practices and designs utilized heretofore is the subject matter of the present application.